


Flowers of Silence

by ACrazyFangirl



Category: Ruby Redfort Series - Lauren Child
Genre: Angst, Hitch doesnt like talking about emotionw, Soulmate AU, Well not really, a hella amount of angst, almost unrequited, unrequited love au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 03:08:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13604274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ACrazyFangirl/pseuds/ACrazyFangirl
Summary: Their is a disease that blossoms with unrequited love, but surely it is just a fairy talk. Till it happens with Ruby's house manager. Then he just stays silent, till he is on deaths door.





	Flowers of Silence

There is a thing that every child grows up knowing. You grew flowers when you are hopelessly in love with someone that doesn’t love you back, most dismissed it as a fairy-tale but everyone had seen the coughed up sickening flowers on the way nearing the hospital. It was more treated like a fear and you hoped you wouldn’t get to death’s door before you mustered up the guts to tell them how you truly felt.

Hitch knew about Blacker the first time he walked into that Coding Room. It was like a seed of death was planted in his lungs and he couldn’t do anything. He hated the crushing feeling that came as he dropped Ruby off, the stems refusing to move with the movement of his lungs. Then came the petals, slowly at first as he picked it up between his forefinger and thumb from his mouth before squashing it between two pages of a book. He should tell Blacker, at least then he could get over it. At least he will have the crushing dismissal of failure to build a new set of organs from.

Hitch felt the ivy spread over his heart as he was sent away to England for a double mission with one of their Double Oh agents, he watched as Bond waltzed through the hearts and lives of so many women all feeling the ache of his own garden inside, jealous of this man who could think of being with other women instead of just one. This wasn’t pretty, this was hideous, and he wouldn’t do anything about it.

“You scream at night,” comes the quiet comment from Mrs Digby as she pours Hitch some coffee in the morning as if this was polite small talk. Neither of them were fully prepared for the gossip that they usually share, Hitch was barely into his suit his shirt half unbuttoned and tie slung around his neck.

“I am aware of that,” lies Hitch through gritted teeth labouring as vine creeps up his throat, it had been at least six months since he came back and about a year since he first felt that drop. The collection of petals had grown across about six journals each a sickening green or hideous luminous yellow contrasted with brash pinks and purples. He hated how much his garden had grown and how much pain he had to take over each breath, how much effort he had to be basically human.  
“Then there is the petals,” she adds now at the stove frying bacon for the Redfort’s breakfast, despite knowing only Brant would eat it. Sabrina instead still on one of those useless diets and Ruby eating the same cereal every day.  
“I am also aware of that,” he says as he stumbles forward catching himself on the doorframe, “there is nothing to worry about.”

Mrs Digby scoffs, “when I was young we always knew the flowers would be the end of us.”  
“I am not about to tell him,” all but shouts Hitch, “he probably has a loving wife and family and all because I. I can’t handle a little crush. You know he won’t like me back the petals attest to that.”  
He pulls another one out wiping it on his trousers before inspecting the colour and shape identifying it as some fast growing wildfire.

“It seems slightly more then a crush dear,” she says not even noticing the way the House Manager came out as if that in the eighties people who were gay were merely accepted into society. Let alone running the house of some of the most affluential people in the city, “you should at least tell him.”  
“Tell who,” asks Ruby shuffling down the stairs, “is this about your screaming.”  
“Can this entire house hear me,” asks Hitch between flurries of wildflowers, heather and marigolds leave his mouth he has shrunken down the doorframe and seems so weak.

Ruby has her hand on her watch and is dialling for someone to come through. She would usually use Hitch as a message for Spectrum but now she reckons it is time to go straight to the boss herself. As if on queue half an hour later she turns up and greets the family who has placed Hitch on his bed.  
“LB,” he says taking a short staggered breathes as she watches in horror as flowers, full flowers not little petals but daisies and lavender leave his mouth.  
She gasps looking up at the Redfort family who immediately turn red from listening into their conversation and leave, “Rachel is it?” She calls to Ruby, who immediately turns back to face the pair.  
“Ruby miss,” corrects the teenager horrified by what is happening.  
LB beckons her near, “he is going to tell me who it is and you are going to find them and bring them here.”

“He doesn’t feel the same,” says Hitch pulling what seems to be a long vine, “you are just going to make this painful and awkward. He wouldn’t want me anyway, he is so clever and smart and safe and nice.”  
“Save your energy Hitch, I guess that this is Blacker then,” says LB looking at her finest field agent who sits up abruptly and shakes his head, this causes Ruby who knew plenty well about how people react to certain areas immediately contacts Blacker. LB orders her to contact him almost as soon as Hitch faintly nods.  
Blacker turns up in less time then LB looking like he had run through most of Twinford, Mrs Digby realised as soon as she opened the door who he was, “looking for Hitch?”  
“That, I. Yeah,” stutters Blacker as though he was usually good with words.  
Mrs Digby gives him directions to the room and he sprints down to find him.

“Ruby, let’s give them some time,” says LB, “you two better get this quick because I am not about to have another field agent die on me.”  
Ruby shuts the door behind her as they lean heavily against the wall.  
“I thought it was just a fairytale,” she admits watching the steely eyes from LB who seems to be burning the door with her eyes.  
“A fairytale,” she scoffs, “Ruby after all you have been through a fairytale?”  
“I guess now,” she says glancing from LB to the door, “now I know.”  
LB nods, “this doesn’t usually happen I would have thought Hitch would have told him before. Before he was on deaths door.”

“Do you two already know each other,” asks Sabrina who is walking down with biscuits in hand.  
The pair shake their heads suddenly realising what that   
“I was worried about Hitch for a while and well, she was here with Bradley Baker and then I thought she was all he had left.” Ruby lies between her teeth to her mum, “I thought she would have been able to know who Hitch loved.”  
“And you will always tell the person you like,” asks her mum panicked at the door, “you aren’t going to suffer like Hitch is. If this happens to you?”  
“I am,” says Ruby, “I just want to focus on Hitch right now and not me. I didn’t know you screamed.”

“Mrs Redfort, may I talk to your daughter,” says LB delicately, pulling in every aspect of her spy training to seem calm, thank God for those improvisation workshops.  
Sabrina nods as she takes her husbands arms and they all march upstairs.  
“Redfort, you heard him screaming,” she asks, “for how long.”  
“Fortnight, it seems. Is Hitch going to die,” asks Ruby, “does. Is Blacker the one for him?”  
“He seems to have stopped so, I reckon we did the right job. I will take him to mine for a bit if Blacker doesn’t want to watch him,” LB seems to be kinder now and more patient as the curious horrified child, she always had to remember Ruby was a child.

Hitch smiles as Blacker comes in, “LB is taunting me with you on my death bed.”  
“Deathbed, is it that terrible,” asks Blacker concerned. Hitch reckons this is the first time the Coder had walked into a room without the offering of jam donuts.  
Hitch coughs and watches a large lily blossom in his mouth before he tugs it out and smashes it inside his fist.

“You need to tell him. Froghorn, isn’t it,” says Blacker twisting his hands in his lap. He could feel his own seed plant itself in his heart.  
“Froghorn,” scoffs Hitch trying to seem at least some what funny, “no. Froghorn hates Ruby to much to let me love him. Where did you get Froghorn from?”  
“I went through your files after you finished working with that double oh,” he says, “he mentioned a Coder and you always had some sort of emotion of joy when Froghorn walked in, I presumed.”  
“It is you,” and more petals leave. Hitch can taste the iron in his blood as some thorns disappear, admittance is half the step to recovery.

Blacker feels his seed fall through his body into his hand where he tucks it quickly into his pockets, “me. That is impossible?”  
“You have a wife and kids,” says Hitch, “I get it. I will get over my emotions like a goddamn adult.”  
He can feel these thorns stab back into the partially healed wounds, he lets out a scream before quickly embarrassed he covers his mouth.  
“I like you,” says Blacker, “why didn’t you tell me. I want to be with you, since you picked Ruby up.”  
“I am an idiot,” mutters Hitch and he feels his garden die. He feels his chest and lungs pump some substance around the body that wasn’t soil.  
“No,” corrects Blacker, “I should have known.”

Hitch takes a breath a full breath and it feels like his first breath in months, it probably is (his length for holding his breath had definitely decreased).  
Hitch pushes himself into Blacker arms who holds him gently, gingerly picking the petals from Hitch’s t-shirt. He didn’t even wear a suit today.  
“Can you get Ruby,” asks Hitch, “can you stay here but get Rube?”  
Blacker almost immediately leaps to the door and ushers the teenager in. He silently hands her a tissue and that is the first time she acknowledged her tears.

“You need to tell anyone if you start throwing up flowers, I was an idiot,” he lectures, “there are options. But tell them.”  
“For God’s sake you and the rest of this house is telling me this,” says Ruby, “is it really flowers?”  
Hitch nods, “you thought I just had?”  
“Nightmares?” Ruby asks, “don’t we all.”  
Hitch nods, “I am going to stay with Ethan for a few days hash this all out.”  
“You two are soulmates, that is all you need to know,” she says.  
Blacker looks fondly down at Hitch who is liking straight in Ruby’s eyes, “we aren’t soulmates. I just had unspoken love for him.”  
“But you two are good now,” asks Ruby, “Hitch isn’t going to die on me.”  
“I was never going to die on you,” he argues.  
“You did cut it pretty fine Hitch,” adds Blacker gently.  
“I am going to be good for now,” says Hitch confidently looking between the pair, “I will see you in a week maybe Ruby. Be safe.”

Ruby nods before going back out and sprinting all the way upstairs. She pauses outside her room looking at the collection of flowers in vases that she was trying to identify the source from before calling Del.  
“Hey Del, you know that fairy tale about petals…..”


End file.
